Raising a ninja turtle nut

By Michael O'Rourke, Express-News columnist

Updated 9:50 am, Sunday, September 30, 2012

When the names Michelangelo, Leonardo, Donatello and Raphael come up, some people immediately start thinking of Renaissance sculptors, painters, architects and amazing works of art and insight that were created during a magical artistic time. Most of us think of four turtles performing ninjutsu skills and munching pizza. Yes, beginning today, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are enjoying their own renaissance. The shell boys are back and on Nickelodeon.

Almost everyone has a favorite superhero. Pop into any comic book store and you will find hard-core fans of Spider-Man, Batman, the Hulk and a plethora of heroic characters that many in the mainstream have never even heard of.

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In our house, there is a four-way tie for favorite superhero. A tie between Mikey, Donny, Raph and Leo. Even in the crazed world of obsessive comic fanboys, I am going to go out on a limb and state that my oldest daughter, now 20, is the biggest TMNT fan of all time. I know those can be fighting words to many Ninja Turtle devotees, but I have the evidence to back it up.

It all started when Katherine was 3. My sister was baby-sitting, and in a desperate attempt to find something to entertain her niece, she popped in a VHS of the first turtle movie. Katherine was hooked instantly.

Katherine was born during a TMNT lull. The series reached its absolute zenith in popularity a few years before she was born, and the third feature film (the one where they travel back in time) came out when she was only 1. By the time she was becoming obsessed with the four mutant ninja brothers, they were no longer on TV, and their action figures were no longer in stores. What was a turtle girl to do?

My sister had a few VHS cassettes of the original cartoon series and was more than happy to give them to us. My brother gave her the few action figures he still had, and my wife found ninja turtle stuffed animals on eBay.

EBay proved fertile ground for TMNT toys, and we took full advantage of it. Katherine's room began looking like it was decorated from a catalog that came out 10 years before she was born. She had TMNT sheets, pillow cases, posters, a lamp and, well, if it had a turtle on it, she had it.

In elementary school, she had a retro TMNT lunchbox and talked about the turtles all the time. Some of her classmates even accused her of making them up. Who were these turtles she spoke of?

Katherine was vindicated when, in fifth grade, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles returned to television in a new incarnation. Looks like she didn't make them up after all.

Katherine's room still looks like a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle museum, although now it has a flair of retro chic to it. Starting today, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back on television, and we are all going to crowd into her room and watch it on her TMNT television. Yeah, she has one. She is the biggest TMNT fan of all.